Nasa’s robotic moon explorer, Ladee, took a death dive into the lunar surface last night.

The orbiting spacecraft crashed into the moon while travelling at speeds of 3,600 mph (5,800 kph) - fast enough to be vapourised by the impact.

No debris would have been left behind, but project scientist Rick Elphic predicted: ‘It's bound to make a dent.'

Nasa's small moon-orbiting spacecraft Ladee is no more. Flight controllers confirmed today that it crashed into the moon while travelling at speed of 3,600 mph (5,800 kph) - fast enough to be vapourised by the impact

By yesterday evening, the spacecraft had been skimming the lunar surface at an incredibly low altitude of 300 feet (100 metres).

Its orbit had been lowered on purpose last week to ensure a crash by Monday following a successful science mission.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Ladee - short for Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer - was launched in September from Virginia.

From the outset, Nasa planned to crash the spacecraft into the of the moon, far from the Apollo artefacts left behind during the moonwalking days of 1969 to 1972.

In this Nasa illustration, dust scatters light during the lunar sunset as Ladee orbits the moon. By yesterday evening, the spacecraft had been skimming the lunar surface at an incredibly low altitude of 300 ft (100m)

It also studied the dusty veil surrounding the moon, created by all the
surface particles kicked up by impacting micrometeorites.

Scientists hope to use the data to address a long-standing question: was lunar dust, electrically charged by sunlight, responsible for the pre-sunrise glow seen above the lunar horizon during several Apollo missions?

Ladee also hosted Nasa’s first dedicated system for two-way communication using laser instead of radio waves.

It completed its primary 100-day science mission last month and was on overtime.

The extension had Ladee flying during Tuesday morning's lunar eclipse; its instruments were not designed to endure such prolonged darkness and cold.

But the small spacecraft survived - it's about the size of a vending machine - with just a couple pressure sensors acting up.

The mood in the control centre at Nasa’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, was upbeat yesterday afternoon, according to project manager Butler Hine.

‘Having flown through the eclipse and survived, the team is actually feeling very good,’ Mr Hine told the Associated Press in a phone interview.

But the uncertainty of the timing of Ladee’s demise had the flight controllers ‘on edge,’ he said.

As it turns out, Ladee succumbed within several hours of Mr Hine's comments. Nasa announced its end early this morning.

It will be at least a day or two before Nasa knows precisely where the spacecraft ended up; the data cutoff indicates it smashed into the far side of the moon, although just barely.

Engineers prepare to install Ladee spacecraft into the fairing of the Minotaur V launch vehicle nose-cone. The probe was launched in September from Virginia

Ladee did not have enough fuel to remain in lunar orbit much beyond the end of its mission.

It joined dozens if not scores of science satellites and Apollo programme spacecraft parts that have slammed into the moon's surface, on purpose, over the decades.

Until Ladee, the most recent man-made impacts were the LCROSS crater-observing satellite that went down in 2009 and the twin Grail spacecraft in 2012.

During its £167 million ($280 million) mission, Ladee identified various components of the thin lunar atmosphere - neon, magnesium and titanium, among others - and studied the dusty veil surrounding the moon, created by all the surface particles kicked up by impacting micrometeorites.

Ladee also hosted Nasa’s first dedicated system for two-way communication using laser instead of radio waves.